Riddle of the Rusty Horseshoe

by Penumbra Quill

  “Oh! For Celestia’s sake!” an Earth pony exclaimed, picking up the basket of laundry she’d just dropped. “What are you doing here, Scootaloo? I thought you were spending the night up at your new friend’s house?” So it hadn’t been a dream. Scootaloo had gotten in a fight with Apple Bloom and run into a creature right out of her nightmares. Awesome.

  “Hey, Aunt Holiday,” Scootaloo said sullenly. “I… wasn’t feeling good so I came home.” Aunt Holiday studied Scootaloo with concern, clearly not buying it. But she didn’t pry; Aunt Holiday always let Scootaloo tell her things when she was ready.

  “Well, head on into the kitchen. Auntie Lofty’s already in there. I’ll make you some breakfast in just a second.”

  Scootaloo nodded and went into the kitchen, where a sturdy Pegasus, Auntie Lofty, was scarfing down a plate of eggs. She looked up at Scootaloo, surprised.

  “Hey, slugger! What are you doing here?” Auntie Lofty asked.

  “I came home last night! It’s not a big deal!” Scootaloo said more forcefully than she intended. Lofty arched an eyebrow. In contrast to Aunt Holiday, she never let things rest until she had answers. Aunt Holiday came trotting into the room and kissed Lofty on top of her head.

  “Let me make Scootaloo some breakfast first, dear. Then you can give her the third degree.” Scootaloo sighed. Aunt Holiday was her dad’s older sister. Recently, she and Auntie Lofty had started staying with Scootaloo when her parents were away, which was most of the time. Unlike her parents, they were always interested in what was going on in her life. Usually it was nice that they cared, but this morning, she wished they would just leave things be. Scootaloo sat down at the kitchen table, where Auntie Lofty eyed her suspiciously. A knock at the door rescued Scootaloo from Lofty’s gaze.

  “I’ll get it!” Scootaloo said, jumping up and rushing to the door. She opened it to find Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Lilymoon, and Ambermoon standing there. They all looked at her with varying degrees of worry.

  “Oh. Hey, guys,” Scootaloo said, not quite sure what to say.

  “Hey,” Apple Bloom said, equally as uncomfortable. “We just wanted to make sure you were okay. Ambermoon told us you left in a hurry last night.” Scootaloo looked at Ambermoon. Why hadn’t she told them about the spooky, old pony on the stairs?

  “Well, of course I did… I saw the Olden Pony coming down the stairs toward me. What else was I gonna do?” The fillies all glanced at one another, confused.

  Ambermoon looked back at Scootaloo. “There wasn’t anypony on the stairs. We were in the kitchen, then you ran into the foyer and out of the house,” she explained.

  “What? No. I saw her!” Scootaloo insisted. “She was right there on the stairs! She was asking about her rusty horseshoe!” Scootaloo couldn’t believe Ambermoon was lying!

  “Well,” Apple Bloom began, “maybe you just thought you saw the Olden Pony after I reminded you of how scared you used to be of her.” She looked like she wanted to say more, but Scootaloo didn’t give her a chance.

  “Can you please stop bringing that up?!” Scootaloo said angrily. “I don’t need you telling everypony else what a scaredy-pony you think I am!”

  “That ain’t what I’m sayin’!” Apple Bloom responded.

  “You’re just saying you don’t believe me,” Scootaloo said.

  “Well, if Ambermoon didn’t see anything—” Sweetie Belle began.

  “Oh, so now you trust Ambermoon?” Scootaloo asked.

  “What does that mean?” Ambermoon said, looking at the others.

  “Nothin’,” Apple Bloom said. She turned to Scootaloo. “Okay, so you think you saw something last night.”

  “I did see something last night. The Olden Pony,” Scootaloo stated.

  “But isn’t that just a ghost story?” Lilymoon asked. Scootaloo’s wings fluttered in annoyance.

  “Look,” she said, “I know it’s a ghost story. I know she’s not supposed to be real. But I also know what I saw. It was her. She was there. I don’t know how, but she was.” She looked at the others. She could tell they were at a loss for what to say. They really didn’t believe her. She was just going to have to find a way to prove to them it was true!

  “Thanks for coming by to check on me,” Scootaloo said, then forced a fake yawn and stretched her hooves. “I think maybe I just need some rest. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “You sure?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We thought maybe we could all go over to Sugarcube Corner and—”

  “It’s okay,” Scootaloo said quickly, “I’m not that hungry. Have fun!” She went back inside, leaving her confused friends to stare at one another quizzically on the doorstep.

  After a hearty breakfast spent avoiding answering Auntie Lofty’s questions, Scootaloo headed into town. If she was going to prove that the Olden Pony was real, she needed more information. For that, she knew just who to talk to. Scootaloo felt a little bit better now that she had a plan. She just wished she didn’t have to do it alone. She was used to having her friends by her side.

  “Doesn’t look like you’re getting much rest,” somepony said. Scootaloo turned. Ambermoon was leaning against a tree. Scootaloo huffed and kept walking. Ambermoon rushed over to walk alongside her.

  “You sure seem to like following me,” Scootaloo said. “Planning to spy some more and then lie to my friends that I’m seeing things?”

  “I didn’t say you were seeing things. I just said I didn’t see anything. Because I didn’t,” Ambermoon explained. “But after talking to you this morning, I realized something must have happened—I just wasn’t sure what. And that’s what I told your friends.” Scootaloo still couldn’t believe Ambermoon hadn’t seen anything, but there was nopony else around, so she had no reason to lie.

  “Yeah? Where are they now?” Scootaloo asked, pretending to be disinterested.

  “Sugarcube Corner. Although they all looked pretty bummed to go without you.” Scootaloo felt better knowing her friends missed her. If only they believed her, too.

  “Why did you stick around?” Scootaloo asked, honestly curious. Ambermoon stared straight ahead, not making eye contact.

  “I could tell you were planning something. And I saw how scared you were last night. I felt bad. So I… wanted to help if I could.” Scootaloo stopped walking and stared at Ambermoon.

  “Okay, hold on. Last night you said you wanted to check on me. Now you want to help me. We don’t even like each other! Why are you doing this?”

  “I can see how much Lilymoon likes hanging out with all of you,” Ambermoon explained. “She seems… happier since she met you. It made me think… it might be nice to have a friend. So I’m trying to be friendly.” Ambermoon looked at Scootaloo and forced a wide smile. The weird grin had the opposite effect Ambermoon was going for, but she seemed to be sincere. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as Scootaloo had thought she was. Scootaloo still didn’t completely trust her, but… it was nice having somepony on her side. Even if it wasn’t the pony she was expecting.

  “Okay, fine,” Scootaloo said. “You can hang out with me. For now. C’mon.” She nudged Ambermoon’s shoulder to follow.

  “Where are we going?” Ambermoon asked.

  “To get answers about the Olden Pony story from the most awesome pony in Equestria. The pony who told me the story in the first place: Rainbow Dash.”

  It took a little time, a lot of asking around, and a ton of side errands, but they finally found Rainbow Dash flying out of Rarity’s boutique. She was carrying her Wonderbolts uniform and was in a hurry.

  “Hey! Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo called, waving at the blue Pegasus. Rainbow Dash saw her and veered over.

  “Hey, Scoot. Hey, Scoot’s friend. Can’t talk long. I’m in a hurry! Gotta get ready to go to Canterlot for the Royal Flyfest! It’s gonna be so awesome!”

  “Oh wow! The Flyfest!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “That sounds amazing! What tricks are you planning?” Ambermoon cleared her throat, reminding Scootaloo why they were there. “Oh. Right,”
Scootaloo said. “Hey, before you go, can I ask you something about the Olden Pony?”

  “The what now?” Rainbow Dash frowned.

  “You know, that spooky story you told me a long time ago.” Scootaloo squinted one eye and hobbled toward Rainbow Dash. “‘Who has my rusty horseshoe?’ Is there any more to it?” Scootaloo asked.

  Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Nope. Long time ago. Spooky night. Some ponies walking through the woods; Olden Pony wants her rusty horseshoe. Boom!” Then she added, “I mean, when I tell it, it feels like there’s more to the story, because I’m a really good storyteller.” Rainbow Dash glanced around. “Hey, where’re Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? Aren’t you all attached at the flank?”

  “Um.” Scootaloo kicked a rock with her hoof. “I… don’t wanna talk about it.”

  “Whoa. Whoa.” Rainbow Dash landed next to Scootaloo and Ambermoon. “I may be in a hurry, but I’ve always got time when something’s wrong with a friend. And something is definitely wrong. What’s up?”

  “Things have just been weird lately,” Scootaloo mumbled.

  Rainbow Dash nodded. “I see,” she said. “Well, I know just how to fix that!”

  “You do?” Scootaloo asked.

  “Yup! Sometimes friendships can go through ups and downs. But doing something awesome together always helps. Go round up the others. You’re all gonna be my special guests tomorrow at the Canterlot Royal Flyfest!”

  The rest of the day was a blur of activity. Scootaloo and Ambermoon rushed to Sugarcube Corner to tell the others about the invitation. Despite the weirdness between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, everypony was beyond excited. A chance to see the Wonderbolts live was never something anypony would pass up!

  Ambermoon and Lilymoon ran home to make sure it was okay with their parents that they tag along, while the Crusaders ran to the clubhouse where they had a pile of Rainbow Dash posters ready to go. (Scootaloo always made sure there were GO, RAINBOW DASH! and RAINBOW DASH IS AWESOME! posters for any occasion.) Nopony brought up what Scootaloo had seen the night before. It still bugged Scootaloo that the others didn’t believe her, but until she had proof that what she saw was real, she didn’t want to get into another argument with Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom seemed to feel the same way. She kept the conversation focused on the Wonderbolts and how much Lilymoon was going to love watching them fly. Sweetie Belle kept glancing back and forth between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. She knew things weren’t fine, but she didn’t seem to know what to do about it, so she just kept smiling and saying, “Yay, Wonderbolts,” a lot.

  Scootaloo was relieved that she made it through the night without seeing or hearing anything strange, and bright and early the next morning the Crusaders, Lilymoon, and Ambermoon met Rainbow Dash at the train station.

  “Come on! Let’s go, go, go!” Rainbow Dash said as she hurried them all onto the Friendship Express. “I have to get to Canterlot in time to rehearse!”

  “This is so exciting!” Lilymoon said, smiling wider than Scootaloo had ever seen. “I’ve only ever heard about the Wonderbolts! I can’t wait to actually see them!” She sat down next to the window as the train slowly left the station.

  “It’s gonna be amazin’!” Apple Bloom grinned, sitting down next to her. Sweetie Belle climbed into the seat in front of them. Scootaloo saw that Ambermoon was sitting a bit off to the side by herself. She walked past the open seat next to Sweetie Belle and sat next to Ambermoon instead. Everypony, including Ambermoon, was surprised.

  “I’m glad you could come,” Scootaloo said as she settled next to the Unicorn. Ambermoon smiled shyly back.

  “Me too,” she said. “It took some convincing, but since this is the first thing my sister and I have ever wanted to do together, my parents finally gave in.” In front of them, Lilymoon said something and Apple Bloom laughed loudly. Scootaloo rolled her eyes, then pointedly laughed even louder.

  “Ha-ha-ha! That’s hilarious, Ambermoon!” Scootaloo shouted. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Lilymoon all turned to look back at them. Ambermoon eyed her strangely.

  “What about that was hilarious?” she asked.

  “Nothing, I just—” Scootaloo began, but a raspy voice cut her off.

  “Where is it?” The voice rose from a growl to a shriek. “WHERE IS MY RUSTY HORSESHOE?”

  “What was that?” Ambermoon yelped, jumping out of her seat and looking around the train. Scootaloo stared at her.

  “You heard it, too?” Scootaloo asked.

  “Everypony on the train must have heard that!” Ambermoon replied. They both looked around. Apple Bloom, Lilymoon, and Sweetie Belle were chatting softly. In fact, aside from a few passengers eyeing them curiously, everypony else was sitting quietly.

  “That was her!” Scootaloo whispered. “The Olden Pony.” Ambermoon looked thoughtful, then glanced around the train.

  “Okay. Well, even though I don’t see her, I clearly heard her. So it isn’t just in your head,” she said matter-of-factly.

  “I told you,” Scootaloo replied triumphantly.

  “But now we need to figure out what’s happening. Let’s—”

  “Hey, you two!” Sweetie Belle called, waving to them. “Come here for a sec!”

  “Maybe she heard it, too!” Scootaloo said, and the two of them joined the others. But Sweetie Belle’s happy smile made it clear that this wasn’t about anything spooky.

  “I just wanted to say I’m really glad Ambermoon and Lilymoon could join us for this trip. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom and I are looking forward to all of us spending time together.” Scootaloo realized what the loud and between her name and Apple Bloom’s meant. It was about as close as Sweetie Belle was going to get to telling her friends to cut it out and play nice. Scootaloo really wanted to get back to talking to Ambermoon about the Olden Pony, but she appreciated what one of her best friends was trying to do.

  “Let’s all just have fun today,” Sweetie Belle added. “Deal?” she said as she stuck out her hoof. Apple Bloom grinned and did the same.

  “Deal,” Apple Bloom said.

  “Deal,” Lilymoon and Ambermoon both said as they stuck their hooves in.

  “Deal,” Scootaloo said, sticking her hoof in and bumping it with the others.

  Maybe Rainbow Dash is right, Scootaloo thought. Maybe all you needed to fix friendship problems was a trip to a Wonderbolts show. Now if only that could solve the Olden Pony problem, too.…

  “Fillies and gentlecolts! Please put your hooves together forrrrrrrrrrrr the—” The announcer barely got out the word “Wonderbolts!” before the crowd went wild! Ponies screamed and cheered as the Wonderbolts soared over the stadium into the arena. Celestia had just lowered the sun, and giant lights pointing skyward illuminated the Pegasi’s trademark blue-and-gold uniforms as they streaked across the star-filled night.

  The seating for the Canterlot Royal Arena was built into the side of a huge cliff for perfect viewing. Hundreds of ponies filled the stands, stomping their hooves with excitement as a crew of Pegasi shifted cloud and rainbow obstacles into place for the Wonderbolts’ daring maneuvers. Usually Scootaloo would have been cheering louder than anypony, but with everything going on, she was having trouble focusing.

  “Wow!” exclaimed Lilymoon.

  “Go, Rainbow Dash!” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom screamed.

  Sweetie Belle nudged Scootaloo. “Hey, you okay?” Scootaloo glanced over at Ambermoon. Before the show had started, Ambermoon suggested they tell the others what they had heard on the train. But Scootaloo had insisted they wait until after the Wonderbolts’ performance. She knew Rainbow Dash loved nothing more than performing for her friends, and she wanted everypony’s focus to be on her hero. The mystery stuff could wait until later.

  “I’m fine,” she lied. Scootaloo looked up at the Wonderbolts flying in formation. She easily spotted Rainbow Dash and smiled. Rainbow Dash always got annoyed with this part of the performance, because she said she had to fly slower than she wanted in order to keep pace wit
h the others. But despite that, she always managed to fly at exactly the right speed. Rainbow Dash, Soarin’, Spitfire, and the others were all perfectly in sync. Scootaloo glanced over at Apple Bloom. She realized that not being perfectly in sync with her best friend was bothering her just as much as the problem with the Olden Pony. Apple Bloom glanced over and saw Scootaloo looking at her. She gave a small smile and waved. Scootaloo smiled back. Maybe everything would be—

  The Olden Pony’s voice cut through the crowd like a knife. “WHERE IS MY RUSTY HORSESHOE?”

  Scootaloo could feel Ambermoon tense up beside her. But this time, she saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Lilymoon freeze as well!

  “Rusty horseshoe?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

  “You heard that?” Scootaloo asked.

  Apple Bloom nodded, her eyes wide.

  “Not just heard it…” Lilymoon said, pointing at the stairs below their seats.

  The Olden Pony was slowly hobbling toward them, her red eye glaring balefully at them.

  “I know you have it,” she croaked, pointing at them. “Give it to me!”

  But this time, Scootaloo was ready. Back when she’d still had nightmares about the Olden Pony, there had been one way to stop her. Scootaloo pulled a rusty horseshoe out of her saddlebag and tossed it toward the ancient mare.

  “Take it!” Scootaloo cried. The Olden Pony squinted down at the horseshoe. Then she gave Scootaloo a wicked smile.

  “That’s not going to work this time, dearie.” Scootaloo gasped as the Olden Pony kicked the horseshoe away and kept stalking toward them.

  “Everypony, stay calm,” Ambermoon said, taking charge. “We don’t know what she is, but we know she isn’t real. She can’t hurt us.”

  Scootaloo glanced at the ponies behind and around them. They were whispering to one another and starting to look at the CMCs and their friends strangely. It was obvious that none of the other audience members could see the Olden Pony. Scootaloo looked back down to the stairs and gulped. The Olden Pony was gone.